German Election Panel Study, 1972 (ICPSR 7102)

This panel study was conducted in three waves: two
preceding and one immediately following the 1972 election in the
Federal Republic of Germany. A total of 2,052 respondents, weighted to
2,024.5, were interviewed in the first wave. Of these, 1,603, weighted
to 1583.5, were reinterviewed in the second wave, and 1,222, weighted
to 1,210.1, were surveyed for a third time, after the election. Both
pre-election interviews began by asking the respondent to assess the
existent and future economic situation of the Federal Republic. The
respondents were... (more info)

This panel study was conducted in three waves: two
preceding and one immediately following the 1972 election in the
Federal Republic of Germany. A total of 2,052 respondents, weighted to
2,024.5, were interviewed in the first wave. Of these, 1,603, weighted
to 1583.5, were reinterviewed in the second wave, and 1,222, weighted
to 1,210.1, were surveyed for a third time, after the election. Both
pre-election interviews began by asking the respondent to assess the
existent and future economic situation of the Federal Republic. The
respondents were queried about their party identification, and were
asked to separately evaluate each party on a feeling scalometer and
to rank the parties in preference order. Another portion of the two
pre-election interviews dealt with the respondents' interests in a
broad range of political issues. The interviewees were also asked
which party could best deal with each of the issues that they
considered salient. Both interviews inquired about the visibility of
political figures in Bonn and solicited evaluations of the two
chancellor candidates. The first two waves also investigated the
respondent's voting behavior in the 1969 election and anticipated
behavior in the 1972 election. The third, post-election, wave dealt
with the respondent's actual voting behavior in the 1972 election and
involvement in the campaign. Questions inquired about perceived
sources of campaign funding for each party and problems the respondent
saw in the methods of financing. As in the first two waves, the
respondents were queried about their party identification, and were
asked to separately evaluate each party on a feeling scalometer and
to rank the parties in preference order. The personal data section
of the three interviews gathered information on education, sex, age,
marital status, and religious preference. The family income and
occupation of the respondents, their fathers, and heads of households
were also assessed.

This study contains a weight variable (V3) which
produces a representative sample of the voting-age citizens of the
Federal Republic when used in analysis. The weight variable corrects
for sex and age biases of the sample, and was constructed by comparing
the age by sex distribution of the first-wave respondents with the
census distribution. This weight variable should be used when
analyzing any of the three panel waves.

Universe:
Citizens, aged 18 and older, of the Federal Republic of
Germany, excluding West Berlin, living in private households.

Data Types:
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

This study contains a weight variable (V3) which
produces a representative sample of the voting-age citizens of the
Federal Republic when used in analysis. The weight variable corrects
for sex and age biases of the sample, and was constructed by comparing
the age by sex distribution of the first-wave respondents with the
census distribution. This weight variable should be used when
analyzing any of the three panel waves.

Conducted by Infratest, Frankfort, Germany.

Methodology

Sample:
A stratified, multistage, random sampling procedure was
utilized in this study. The sample was drawn in three stages: first,
the sampling points were designated, then households were chosen
within each sampling point, and finally, individuals were selected
within each household. The definition of the population excluded
persons living in group quarters, institutional populations, and
people with no place of residence.